Happy Memorial Day :)

Happy Memorial Day!

I am so grateful to live in this wonderful country, and to be alive in such an incredible time! We are so blessed. It is also so awesome to be a "solider"  in the "Lord's Army" at this time. It is the greatest thing, and i am doing all that i can to "fight with my might" to "choose the right"! 

It has been a wonderful week in the mission. We had family night this last Monday with Deanna and her kids at a member's home. We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ and invited her to be baptized, but she is still wanting to wait until her daughter is "really into it" to make the commitment of baptism. They are so awesome, and i have definitely learned patience as we have been teaching them... I know that they will eventually get there, and it will be in the Lord's timing. 

On exchanges this week we had a really cool experience. I was with Sister Bowles, who is one of the sisters i came out with but is also serving in my ward as well. It is always fun going on exchanges with these sisters because we know everyone they are teaching, and the dinner appointments are always with our ward members! ha. But we had an incredible experience as we ate dinner at the Swapp's house. They are an active member family in the ward, and are awesome. it was my first time over there. They had invited their nephew (who is living there) and his non-member girlfriend named Ria to join us for dinner and the lesson. We had felt inspired to prepare to share the Restoration with the Swapps, and were thrilled when Ria was there. Sometimes i get nervous teaching the Restoration to members, just because we all know "what happened". But it ended up being one of the most powerful first lessons i have ever taught. As i was telling the first vision account, Sister Swapp had tears running down her face, and bore a powerful testimony of the Restoration of Christ's gospel to her kids and also to Ria. The spirit was so strong, and Ria was given a Book of Mormon and invited to pray about it to know if it is true. It was so wonderful, and i am excited for Sister Bowles and Tune to continue teaching her. 

On Wednesday of this week we had Zone Conference! ah, zone conference is like Christmas. We had the most amazing conference, and i was so totally uplifted. The whole theme of ZC was "The Family: A Proclamation to the World". We have been studying that the past few weeks to prepare for conference, and i was able to receive so much wonderful revelation and also counsel from our leaders. The thing that was so cool about it, was that the whole conference was focused on US! ha. It was all about how we can prepare now, while on our missions, to be the best mothers/fathers for our children, and how our responsibility to have a righteous family is great! President and Sister Weston bore powerful testimony about the family, and how it truly is the only thing that will be able to combat evil in these last days. Some of the elders, after conference, came up with the phrase "Puffed Out" haha meaning that they arent "trunky" but are excited for marriage! ha. I think all of us are feeling a greater need and desire to be the best parents we possibly can be. I know that the family is ordained by God. I know that the Lord specifically put us in families because in them is where our joy and happiness can be full. I am so thankful for my family, and feel so excited to continue to raise a righteous posterity!

Sister Brough and i were asked to sing at zone conference, and knowing the theme of "families" we decided to prepare an arrangement of "Where Love Is". We didnt have much time to prepare, and last minute changed our minds on the song, and so i was a little nervous how it would go. But we prayed that the music would bring the spirit in and not glorify ourselves but glorify God. It went great. We recorded it so i will try and send it. We were definitely blessed.

We had a neat experience this week with a recent convert, named Kitty. She comes out on team ups with us all the time, and is one of the sweetest people i have ever met. I love her. This last week she called us because she wanted us to come over to talk. She opened up to us about some concerns she has been having, especially in regards to knowing that God really does love her and is aware of her. It was so cool because we had prepared to share with her Proverbs 31, all about "who can find a virtuous woman", and teach her more about her individual worth as a daughter of God. I was so grateful we followed the spirit. The Lord blesses us with so much charity, and the love in that room as we taught was so strong. I am so grateful to have even a tiny impact on the people here in Nebraska. It is the greatest joy.

Fun Fact:

1. After we serve at the Healing Gift clinic every Thursday night, Dr. Fischer always takes us out to dinner. Well, at dinner this week we went to this awesome restaurant called Goldberg's. He loves it. and so do it! ha. But anyway, it was the end of the meal and i was telling some story, and the water glass that i was holding in my hand completely slipped out, crashed on the table, and water/glass/ice flew everywhere and on everyone. Thankfully everyone got a good laugh, ha but it was so awful. I think the worst part it though that i wont be able to live it down with Dr. Fischer. He is a huge tease, and i love him. 

2. I saw Lauren Patterson and Jim Holmes this week! It was so fun, and felt like seeing family. Brother Holmes came to my ward on Sunday and was able to meet our investigator John who was there. It was a sweet tender mercy

Saturday Sister Brough and I gave the training at Tral Center Training. We had felt earlier in the week to do a tour upstairs to practice some different techniques, but as we were preparing for the training on Friday night, we both didernt feel good about it. We had read a talk called "What if Love were our Only Motive" earlier in the week, and both felt like that is what we needed to train on. We totally switched our plan, and gave a training about Charity. I was nervous because we didnt have much time to prepare for it, but i know that it was what God wanted us to do. A sister after the training told me in tears that she had prayed to know how she could improve/help her companion, and felt like the training we gave was an answer to her prayer. It was so awesome, and it brought me to tears to know that the Lord trusts me and is so willing to guide us to bless even just one of His children. It was such a tender moment.

After TCT Sister Brough and I held New Sister Orientation for the 4 new Trail Center sisters. They are incredible, and it was so fun to get to know them. With every new sister that comes in it is like having an addition to the family! I already love them so much, and i know that they will be the leaders of this mission. They have such strong testimonies. The Lord really is continually strengthening the younger generations to serve Him and do His work. It is so cool to be a part of it!

We had a wonderful dinner last night at the Williams home. They, and the Hobbs, who were also there, are both active member families who i hadnt really met before because they  live out in Bennington, which is about 20 minutes away. I dont really know how ti describe it in words, but i just left feeling like i had left one of my relatives houses. They were so loving, and so kind, and i was so uplifted by the spirit that was in their home. It was cool to see the trust that they gained in us by the time we left their home. They asked if sister brough and i could sing for them, so we sang the version of "I need thee every hour". The spirit was flooding the room by the end of the song, and everyone was in tears. Sister Williams then insisted that we all gather around the piano and sing all together some Hymns. I loved it. it was just like being home, and could literally hear mom saying those exact words.ha. It was wonderful, and made me so grateful to be a missionary.

I love you all! So grateful for your constant love and support. I was thinking this morning about what we would do on memorial day each year.. and i couldnt remember, until i remembered! Big Sur! ha. of course! I hope you are enjoying the bugs and dirt .. haha just kidding. But seriously, have fun!

Till next week,

Sister Peterson

Storm Warning

Long time no see!!

What a glorious day yesterday.. i am still floating from a wonderful skype call - meeting baby MckSpen along with seeing all of your faces was a dream. Just another testament that i literally have the best family in the whole world... that sounds prideful. But really, i am so grateful for such an uplifting day yesterday! :)

We saw so many miracles this week. With the Cleverly's gone, and with much to do, the Lord really helped us out in every way possible. I saw His hand so readily this week, and i know we could not have done it without Him!

List of Tender Mercies:

1. The parade for Florence Days was about to start, and we started feeling like drops of rain. Sister Brough and i said a pray, and the minute we said amen the rain stopped, and it didnt start raining until late that night. the weather was perfect for both the parade and the concert.

2. Last night - a. Being able to ALL skype. for an hour! such a tender mercy. b. right as our phone call ended, we ran to the basement of the house because the tornado was passing by the house! ha so crazy. thankfully we were safe! And actually, i SAW the tornado! The member we were with made sure to show my it before getting for cover, ha. It was a huge "wall cloud" that was forming into a tornado.. super crazy. never want to see one of those again! craziest storm i have ever been in.. but of course, it ended right at 8:30, so we were able to get home right at 9. so cool.

3. John came to church! I told you yesterday, but he came to the concert after Florence days, and absolutely loved it. President Weston was also there, and so i went and introduced the two, hoping that President would be able to say something to John to get him even MORE close to joining the church... and that is exactly what happened! He LOVED taking to President, and feels like they are very similar. He loved church yesterday, and felt so comfortable there. It was a total miracle. I am so excited to continue to see him progress :) 

4. Diamond and Laurie - Our investigator Diamond, who we havent been able to get in contact with a ton the past few weeks, met with us this week... with her mom! And it was SO awesome! Her mom had all of these questions about the Spirit, which is my fav topic, and it was so apparent that the Lord has been preparing her to hear the gospel. She has had a hard life, but they both are excited to meet with us again this week. Pray for them!

I am so grateful to be a missionary. man alive. it is the best thing ever. I am so thankful that there is a living prophet on the earth to lead and guide this church, Christ's church. I know that Christ lives and that He is our Savior. I am so thankful that "i have a family here on earth" and that "they are so good to me". I am grateful for the Book of Mormon! love that book so much.

Last night as we were in the middle of the Tornado, all i felt was pure peace. i think a huge part of it was that i had just skyped the family, so if i were to die, that would have been a good time! ha, but i know that the peace i felt was through our Savior. I kept thinking, as i was looking at the crazy winds/storm, about Helaman 5:12.. these truly are the last days... and i know that peace and comfort come as we have a sure foundation in Christ. The talks in this last General Conference were so awesome in reminding us to "hold on tight" to our beliefs so that they are not shaken in the storms of life. We are so blessed. And what a blessing we could all be to those who do not know of the "protection" we have in the gospel.

This week is transfer week, so pray that everything goes smoothly! We will have 4 new sisters coming to the Trail Center, which will be so awesome. Change is always good.

Love you all! Miss you!

Sister Peterson

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

What do you call four mexicans in a boat that is going down? ...... Cuatro Cinco! (sink-o)

I am anxiously awaiting baby "Jose" or "Maria"! What an exciting week for the Peterson family!!

It has been another wonderful week.. One that has been humbling, but also very encouraging as well. it was the first week in probably about 8 that we didnt have anyone at church, so that was pretty discouraging.. but looking at the bright side, we have had so many blessings the past 2-3 months that i can't complain!

This week we have a TON going on. We are trying to stay calm, and i know the Lord will be there with us the whole time! We meet with the Cleverly's every monday morning to talk about the affairs of the TC, but received a call from Elder Cleverly last night, telling us that Sister Cleverly's father is passing away, so they were leaving on an early flight tomorrow (today) to San Diego for the week. That means that Brough and I are really the head honcho's of the TC! Ah! Pray we don't burn it down! ha.

This week we have the annual Florence Days - the city parade where we dress up as pioneers and pull hand carts down 30th street (i can't believe it has already been a year since we had this parade! So crazy!) It should be a really fun event. Sister Brough and i (along with the TC sisters and some elders) are having a concert after the parade to help advertise  the Trail Center! We are kind of just throwing it together this week, so pray it goes well! We are excited :)

Some fun things that happened this week:

1. Mission Leadership Council - so awesome, as always. It was kind of neat because President Weston gave a training all about faith/miracles ... the same training he gave the TC sisters 3 weeks ago! We felt ahead of the game at MLC! ha but it was neat that even though it was the same training, i was still able to receive a ton of new revelation, and have a much stronger testimony of faith. I want to have more of it, because it truly is the only way that we can receive miracles!

2. On exchanges this week, we saw so many miracles. One of them, ha, was when we had dinner! We have been short on food the last week, and so we decided that we'd use a Little Caesar's gift card. When we tried to pay for the food, however, the cashier wasn't working, and it turned into a whole fiasco. Well, there was a woman behind us who stood up for us and told the man behind the cashier to "be nice to these girls!" and then eventually paid for our dinner! ha isnt awesome? She was so sweet, and it was a tender mercy...

.... another miracle on exchanges: We received a call from the Rockbrook sisters, telling us that they met someone in our area who we needed to go see. We went over that night, and met Curt and Lisa, two new investigators! They are SO awesome, pretty crazy, ha but the kindest people. Lisa actually gave Sister Winterton (who i was with) her coat since she had forgotten one. Kind, kind, people. We visited Lisa yesterday and had a wonderful visit. I am excited to see where things go with her.

3. Remember cindy and tudie? well.. they don't have to move for another month! such a miracle. AND, their son, Josh, is now investigating the church! He is in his 20's, and is super willing to study and learn. We gave him Alma 32 to read, and when we came back the next day to talk to him about it, he had taken 10 pages of notes! star student! He didnt come to church this week which was super sad, but i know he will come next week!

The Lord has been so good to me this week. i caught a little cold from one of our less actives, Jessica, and have just been praying that the Lord will take it away from me so i can work as hard and as diligently as i need to, especially on a high-stress week like this one! But it has been so cool to see that even though i still have a cold, He has given me every little bit of strength i need to make it through the day. It reminds me of the scripture:

And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and he brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord

I know that as we trust in the Lord, He will ALWAYS strengthen us. He is bound to bless us if we are doing our best to follow Him. it is the best deal ever.

With a new niece/nephew on the way, i cant help but cry with happiness for the blessing of family! isn't it about.. time? :) Family is what the gospel is all about! it is the reason that we are able to have joy and happiness in this life, and exaltation in the next! I am so grateful for the gospel and for how it blesses our families. We are so blessed, and i am so thankful!

Talk to you soon... like, on Sunday! :) Love you all!

Sister Peterson

Spring!

Hey!

One more week, and a wonderful one it was! The flowers are blooming, the cemetery across from the Trail Center is looking beautifully green, and life is great in Florence. I love the spring time!

First things first:

A big congratulations to all who graduated this past weekend! I am so grateful for my experience at BYU with all of you... what a blessing to have been surrounded by such wonderful family and friends for my first few years at school. I am so proud of you all! Love you!

Fun Facts:

1. On Tuesday we served at the Trail Center all day, and it was extremely slow... you can only read the scriptures for so long, ha so all of our minds were kind of going crazy. We were making jokes about floating in the air as if the Trail Center lost gravity... anyway, ha let's just say we took it too far and because of the slowness of the day, we were giggling about anything and everything! ha.. Well, Sister Brough and i made BBQ chicken for dinner, and when we were getting our dinner ready, we realized our meal would be made 10 x better if we had some sort of "bun" to make a sandwich with. We laughed and said that maybe if we had enough faith, we would be able to open one of the cupboards and some buns would be there. We went through each cupboard laughing about "manna" buns. Well, we couldn't believe our eyes when we got to the last cupboard, and there sitting on the shelf was a a bag of BUNS! haha we almost fell over as "our prayer" was answered. We had a delicious dinner, and were grateful for the manna from heaven. I know Heavenly Father probably got a good laugh placing those buns there for us... it really was a miracle!

2. One more funny story - every tuesday night we call in on a conference call with all the zone leaders/sister training leaders in the mission, along with the mission presidency and AP's. When you call into the call, the automated voice says "please announce yourself". We arent supposed to announce ourselves, so we usually just automatically put the phone on mute. Well, that was the plan, but right as we were calling in, a big bug crossed right over our counter and i found myself gasping "is that a ROACH?!" right as the "please announce yourself" came on. So, the whole mission leadership heard. ha. I've been hearing about it ever since! haha. 

On to the more spiritual side of the week :)

We had a wonderful lesson this week with our investigator Chris. He came into the Trail Center a few weeks ago to "refer" himself to learn about the gospel! Such a miracle. He is incredible. He is really well known in the community, and is running for several offices right now in the community. He has a super cute fiance from the Philippines, named Girly, and their son's name is Josh. Darling family, and we feel so blessed to be teaching them. Chris learned a little bit about the church last year, but because of his busy schedule was unable to continue to learn from the sisters. Well, he realized that his life was falling apart and that he needed to see miracles in his life right now, and remembered that when he was studying the Book of Mormon a year ago he was at total peace. Our lesson this week we talked a lot about faith, along with the Restoration. The spirit was so strong, and he kept telling us how whenever he is around members of the church he feels such a "warm, positive" energy that he cant explain. We quickly helped him realize that was the spirit! So cool. He is in Kiwanis club with Elder and Sister Cleverly, so he has had many great associations with the church. pray for him! He is so awesome.

We had another miracle this week with our investigator Cynthia (Cindy) and her husband Tudie. I talked a little bit about them last week. Ah, their story literally makes me sob. They are so destitute and literally have nothing to eat, they have no where to go, and we can't do anything about it. Cindy came to church again this week, and she told us that going to church was the only peace she has felt in years. She said that she finally feels like she belongs somewhere, that she isnt lost, and that she has family. It broke my heart as she cried telling us about all the trials and things she is going through, and then literally not being able to help. We bore testimony again of how the Lord can heal her and provide miracles, but it was still so hard to realize that we cant do anything for her accept pray. So please pray for Cindy and Tudie. They are the kindest couple, and the Lord is helping them stay humble. We may never see them after this week because they are moving, but i know that they will always remember the spirit that they felt as they received blessings, came to church, and prayed with us.

We had an awesome lesson last night at the Trail center with a family in our ward, the Bendorfs. They brought in their daughter's boyfriend and his mom. We watched the The Testaments, and it was such a cool experience to be involved in this family's missionary work. that is the way it is supposed to be... and i loved having brother Bendorf really "be the missionary". It was a great learning opportunity for me!

I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father. I know that my life has been so blessed, and i seriously cant get over how fortunate i am. I know that those blessings have come because of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thanks for all of your love and support! I can't thank you enough for the prayers in my behalf, and the kind words of encouragement. I am so blessed!

Love you all!

Sister Peterson 

Because of Him

Hello!

What do you call bunnies who are walking in a line backwards? ......

A receding "Hare" line!

haha Happy Easter!!

It has been a wonderful week, especially because it was a celebration of Christ's Resurrection! I know that He lives, and that it is only because of Him that we are able to find any peace or happiness in this life and in the next. It was a wonderful week for me to reflect on why i even care about Jesus Christ, and how my life has been influenced by His atonement. I am so grateful for Him.

Probably the highlight of the week was having two trainings by Rus Rasmussen and Jason Mitchell from Salt Lake. They came to observe the Trail Center, offer suggestions on how we can use the facility better, and to provide some trainings for the sisters. They were wonderful. Sister Brough and i were also able to sit down with Brother Rasmussen and the Cleverly's for an hour or two and receive guidance and council on how to do scheduling, what to train the sisters on, and how to take more "effective" tours. I learned so much, and it got me extremely excited for the upcoming weeks of "course correction". It is an exciting time to be here at the Mormon Trail Center! :)

 - Pray that the sisters have a softening of heart, as there will be many changes that will directly effect many of them. It often is hard to change things that have been "the way of life" so hopefully the spirit will guide us to say/do what the Lord wants.

This week we saw a lot of "course correction" as well in our area. We have been abundantly blessed with many people to teach, and many experiences that have strengthened my testimony and trust in God. The past few days have come more humbling experiences, in that the Lord is helping us really focus on those investigators who will progress, by helping "weed out" those who wont. It is sometimes hard to shift focus, but at the same time my trust in God is great, and i know that this is His work and He knows His children way better than we do.

On that note, we had a really neat miracle. We went out with a member of our ward, Brother McCune, to try and visit some people he home teaches who he had never met before. We went to the first house, and we saw two people outside in a U-HAUL truck. We went up to talk to them, and discovered that they were not the people we were looking for. However, we continued talking to them, and we asked if we could come back a few days later to help them with their move. They agreed, and we went on our way. We weren't able to meet any of the people planned, which at the time we thought of as kind of a disappointment. Well, a few days later came along and we went back over to help the couple we had met, (Tudie and Cynthia). The visit was wonderful, and Cynthia opened up about some of the trials she has been through in her life, and how she feels like there is little hope for her life. The invitation was made to come to church with us, and to be healed through the power of the atonement. She accepted, and she came on Sunday! We were able to have a great talk with her after church about her feelings there, as she visibly felt the spirit in Sacrament meeting as tears were running down her cheeks the entire time. It honestly broke my heart to hear how broken she really is.. but is was incredible to see the light in her eyes as we bore testimony of Jesus Christ. It was amazing. I know that it was NO coincidence that we met her, and as always, the Lord works in small and simple ways to bring about His work.

Sister Brough and i gave the Zone Training this week on "Following Up" and having daily contact with our investigators. It felt like a relief society lesson ha as we brought a center piece and made little treats/quotes for everyone. it was fun. We related following up/daily contact with running a marathon. If we only run for 45 minutes once a week, there is no way we would be in shape/ready to run the marathon. We need to have our "daily exercise" and "eat healthy" in order to keep the "spirit" (of running) in us... anyway. it was cheesy and cute, and i think it went really well. We have seen the miracles this week as we have implemented the things we taught about.

We were stopped at a light on our way home, when we saw a girl and a boy, across the street, run towards each other at a dead on sprint. It caught our attention, of course, and we busted up laughing as we saw them jump into each other's arms, and the proceed to do a full on hand shake/dance that lasted at least a minute long! ha. it was so funny, and very typical for Florence ha. We were laughing so hard that we figured we needed to go and talk to them. So we pulled over in front of their house, and started chatting with them. Their names are Kay-Kay and Lawrence, and they are probably 15. We invited them to come to church, so hopefully this next week they will come! ... anyway, it just was another testimony builder for me that the Lord uses our individual personalities (He knew that we would get a kick out of these two and go talk to them) in order to lead us to people who are prepared. ah, i love being a missionary.

I am so thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ. I am grateful to be a missionary. Even though i am exhausted every day, i have never had more energy to do what the Lord wants me to do. It is so much fun!

Love you all!

Sister Peterson

  At Devin's Baptism!

 Michael Ted was one of Devin's fellowshippers in the singles ward! I had no idea until i came to the baptism! small world.

The sisters with Jason Mitchell and Rus Rasmussen

 A cute little treat/craft that the senior couples made for us! little pocket sized scriptures

Had to get some Easter pictures by the tulips at the Trail Center!

" More Cheesy Pictures! "

  With Davina (investigator) and her cute kids

With Rochelle (recent convert) who fed us easter dinner!

With Kitty/John/Ron - investigators and recent convert ... love these people!

2 Weeks of Letters "He Is Risen"

Letter from April 7th - "High on the Mountain Top"

Surprise! My p-day got switched to monday this transfer :)

I feel such deep gratitude today to be on a mission. After hearing the words of the prophets, and to feel the spirit witness to me that they truly are men of God, i feel so humbled to be a member of the church! What a blessing the gospel is!

I could probably type for hours on all that i learned from conference. It was so awesome, man alive. Better than Christmas day. I was totally uplifted and strengthened by every speaker, and i was able to receive many answers to the "inspired questions" i brought to conference. I will just give you a little recap of some of the things i loved:

Elder Holland. He is the man. I absolutely loved his powerful testimony about "defending the faith". It hit me so hard while listening to him speak that we are LITERALLY in the last days, and that the Savior's second coming is SO close! AH! i want to do everything possible to strengthen my testimony so that i can be ready for that glorious day.

Sister Reeves. I love her. It was honestly the most bold talk of the whole conference. Talk about representing the women of the church so perfectly. She spoke with power and authority, yet complete love and kindness. I LOVED her insights on how to protect the family, and how the greatest way we can provide "filters" for our family is through daily scripture study and prayer, and weekly family home evening. Being out here it is so evident the families that are doing that, and those that arent. I am going to be one that does.. and i am so grateful for such wonderful examples of parents and grandparents who have instilled that in me as well. It is really the only way that we will be protected in the upcoming years.

Which reminds me - so many similar themes this conference : Helaman 5:12, Being a disciple of Christ, replacing Fear with Faith, and having complete Love/Kindness towards everyone.

Elder Hales. Obedience. I loved everything he talked about, and have found that obedience TRULY is the way that we show our love to our Heavenly Father, and also how we avoid the pain and sorrow of the world. Definitely will be reading his talk again.

.... there are SO many other things i loved. I cannot wait to get the Ensign and read the talks again. I know that the words spoken this weekend are scripture, and we need to study them.

Conference provided so many miracles in our area as well - Our investigators Sharon, Lena, Diamond, and Charlie all watched it at the Trail Center with us, along with some less actives, Rochelle, Tamara, and Jessica. It was so awesome to see them enjoy conference, and have the faith to come even with the adversary pulling them the other way! There was also an amazing miracle as the internet on Saturday was super spotty, and so we eventually just had to all listen to it without watching. I was nervous that the spirit would be limited and our investigators would be upset about it, but it was exactly the opposite. they all loved every word. What a miracle. On Sunday we prayed super hard and did everything we could to fix the internet, and it was able to play conference without a glitch. The Lord is so good to us.

On Sunday morning we were on shift at the Trail Center, so i missed most of that session of Conference. Luckily we had investigators there to watch it, so i knew they could enjoy it even if i couldnt watch it. But, the coolest miracle happened. A tour came in while i was sitting up, and it was 3 couples who were all non-members. They have been to almost all the church history sites, and for "some reason" have a great pull towards the mormon pioneer history! I was able to take them on tour, and the spirit was so strong in testifying to them of the faith of the pioneers. They asked so many awesome questions, and they left with copies of the Book of Mormon committed to reading them. I know the Lord blessed me because of my "sacrifice" for missing conference. It was just a greater blessing added to me for the day to take them on tour.

This week we had an amazing experience with one of our investigators, Kendra. She is so cool, i wish you all could meet her. She not only cracks me up, but she also has so much faith in her Savior. It seems like every single time we call her or visit her, it is a direct answer to her prayer. On Saturday when we visited her she had been having a terrible week, and was in an awful depression. We were able to lighten her mood, and help her feel the spirit. She said the most beautiful prayer, blessing us and thanking her Heavenly Father for all the many blessings she has. It was a moment that i will never forget, and sister Brough and i both left her house weeping. It is moments like those that make me want to be a missionary forever. She is so humble, and i know that the Lord is so aware of her. i love her so much, and love seeing her continue to progress in the gospel.

Last week on exchanges sister Barton and i had met a girl outside named Diamond. We brought our less active/returning member Jessica to our return appointment with Diamond, and it was the COOLEST team up we have ever had. Jessica was able to relate TOTALLY to Diamond, and it made me want to cry hearing this less active member bear humble, yet powerful testimony of the blessings that have come into her life by being a member of the church. Jessica, and Diamond, are both excited to continue meeting together, and it is the greatest miracle. I know that the Lord has been preparing Diamond to hear this message, and that He also had been preparing Jessica so she can have this opportunity to strengthen her testimony.

We met two new awesome investigators on Saturday, Summer and Sierra. i am stoked to meet with them tonight. They are a mother and daughter, and actually approached US while we were getting into our car after trying a potential. Love it when that happens. ha. Pray that is goes well!

We also have this new family we are working with, Angelo and Danielle and their two babies. It was so cool because we were standing on their porch this week, when some sketchy things were going on across the street. the spirit instantly warned us to pray and to get inside. I prayed and knocked another time on their door. Whereas Danielle has never let us in before, this time as she opened the door she said "you know, it seems kind of cold out there, want to come in?" we basically hopped inside and shut the door ha, but it was a total answer to prayer and i know the Lord protected us. They are a darling little family, and we are also meeting with them again tonight.

We were able to see some former investigators Penny and her daughter Diamond (different one). We had a great lesson with them yesterday, and were able to set them for baptism on May 3rd. Pray that all goes well!!

So many miracles. I am so thankful to witness the Lord's hand working in the lives of so many of these people. it is the greatest honor and privilege i have ever had.

This week being transfers made it pretty busy for sister Brough and i, making the trail center schedule and figuring out the car schedules. We are down to 12 companionships at the Trail Center, which means more shifts and a little trickier to figure out scheduling. But, the Lord's hand guided us the entire time. By the end of figuring out the first 3 weeks of the transfer, we really thought we had created "the perfect schedule". ha come to find out we had made a few mistakes, but i know that the Lord really did help us figure out the sudoku puzzle so our stress level could be at a minimum. He blesses us so much, it is so overwhelmingly wonderful.

i know that this truly is the Lord's church. I know that we are not far away from the Savior's return, and it is up to us to do all we can to prepare. I love my Savior, and know that He lives.

love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Sister Peterson

Letter from April 14th "He is Risen"

Hello from the Trail Center!

The recently green-ed grass is now covered in snow, as it was 80 degrees this weekend, and then snowed last night! I still havent gotten used to Nebraska's temperamental weather.. ha. it always keeps things exciting!

The theme of the week is definitely REVELATORY. It has been a jam-packed week of spiritual goodness. I never get sick of feeling the spirit! This week we had interviews with President Weston, Mission Leadership Council, and then an incredible Trail Center Training on Saturday given by President and Sister Weston. After watching General Conference last week i dont know if my brain can hold any more revelation!! just kidding. but seriously, it has been a wonderfully inspiring week.

Here are 3 things that i have learned this week through these various meetings:

1. As women, we need to understand what the priesthood is so that we can teach our children. If our children fully understand this sacred power, they will understand covenants and the Lord's hand in their lives. With all the madness of "women in the priesthood", it is critical that as women we fully understand how the priesthood works and why it is so important, and WHY it is given to men. Studying Dallin H. Oaks talk from the Priesthood session has been one of the most enlightening talks i have ever read. 

2. Miracles are never wrought without prayer and faith. Miracles are part of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and if miracles cease, it is because of lack of faith. When we pray with faith, then work with faith, then pray again with faith, then work some more with faith, we are BOUND to witness miracles.

3. President Weston is an inspired man. Ha. In my interview with him, it was the most revelatory experience i have ever had. i found my mind going off into a whole other world while he was still talking to me. I had an incredibly sacred experience while meeting with him, where in answer to my prayers and thoughts, he literally recited a line out of my patriarchal blessing. it was amazing, and i know that the Lord is extremely aware of me and also aware of all of us. 

Those are maybe 3 of 1000 things i learned this week.. i am so grateful for the spirit! Man alive. We are so blessed to be able to communicate with our Father in Heaven because of our Savior, and receive direct answers to our prayers through the spirit. What a great gift!

This last weekend was so wonderful. Sister Brough and i were able to attend Devin's baptism, the boy that we started teaching (who was called out to on the street to come take a tour at the Trail center) and then turned over to the single's ward elders. It was so amazing, and the spirit was so strong. We sang "I need thee every hour" at the baptism, and then also were called upon to teach the Restoration while Devin was changing. While being at his baptism it just was so apparent to me that this is the Lord's work. Even though it was a miraculous event that we met Devin, and even though we started teaching him and had very spiritual experiences with him, it was ALL the Lord that led Devin to be baptized. And i know Devin will be a great leader in the church because of it. It was a beautiful day.

Sunday was awesome, as our investigator Deanna and her 3 children came to church! The two oldest, Vanessa and Alex, along with Deanna are all set for baptism on May 17th. They are darling, and SO loving and friendly. The three hours of church was long for them, ha but i know that they had a good experience. They are progressing, and i love teaching a family. It is so fun and such a great blessing.

We had the COOLEST miracle last week on monday. We had a return appointment with our investigators Sierra and Summer, which we were looking forward to all day. At around 5 oclock we got a call from a member in our ward, Sister Larson, who said that she and her daughter, Kelsey, wanted to come out with us that night! It was TOTALLY a miracle, as Sierra and Summer are a mother and daughter, and Kelsey and Sierra are the exact same age. We were stoked. So, we drive over to Sierra's at 7 for our appointment, and we saw her and her mom leaving the house. Our hearts dropped, and we were super disappointed. The Larson's live 30 minutes away, and so we both had a pit in our stomach that they would be driving all that way to have a cancelled appointment. BUT. we didn't give up faith! We prayed for a miracle, and then started texting and calling other investigators that we could come visit. As the Larson's pulled up, we went over to them to tell them the situation, and right as we did so we noticed that a man walked outside of Sierra's house. We bolted over there to start talking to him, and came to find out he was the dad of Sierra. We talked to him for a while outside, and eventually he looked at us shivering and invited us in! (which was a miracle we had forgotten our coats that day!) We were able to have an awesome lesson with him, and "soften him up", as right before we were about to leave, Sierra and Summer walked through the door! We were able to then teach THEM and Sierra and Kelsey hit it off. When we asked Sierra if she would pray about the things we talked about her response was "I think i already know what God is going to say... He is going to say that they are true". ha it was so awesome, and such a tender mercy from the Lord!

This next week we are having a man named Jason Mitchell come from Salt Lake to train us at the Visitor's Center! I am so excited! He came last year, and his training was awesome. I am sure i will tell you all about it next week :)

At Mission Leadership Council, Elder and Sister Cleverly gave an awesome training about the Trail Center and the blessing and tool it can be for missionary work! They bore powerful testimony of our call as trail center missionaries, and how we should be using it more effectively. They talked about having Elders who are bringing people in to call ahead for tours, and letting the sister who will be taking the tour know a commitment that they want extended. Well, the day after the council i was sitting in the "up" chair when and Elder tour came in. They had called ahead, and so i was prepared to take a tour based on receiving revelation through prayer, which was per request. It was one of the best tours i have ever taken. It wasnt a tour at all, but it was a lesson where the spirit could teach the investigator. The Elders contributed, the message was powerful, and i know that conversion happened within all of us. I am so grateful for inspired leaders, and once again, for the spirit. I also have such a strong testimony of the power of preparation. The Lord blesses those who prepare. I felt that as i was given the words to say in this tour, because i had taken the time to study and prepare specifically to fit the needs of this investigator. it was awesome.

Well, now that i have rambled on for an hour, ha i better jump off. But i am so thankful for our loving Father in Heaven, and of course for His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. i know that "He is Risen" and that we is truly the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I am grateful that we get to celebrate Him this weekend. I am so thankful for His redemptive atonement in my life, and know that it is real, just as He is.

Love you all! Happy Easter! "Now have we not reason to Rejoice?" We have the good news of the gospel, which is truly that He IS Risen!

Sister Peterson

Mosiah 2:9

Written April 1, 2014

Hello from Omaha!

It has been one of the most miraculous weeks of my mission. I am so grateful for the Lord's hand in this, His work. He is so aware of us, His children, and i can't get over how thankful i am to be here!

I think Sunday was the best Sunday on my mission. It was incredible. We have been working with all of these different people for a transfer, and they all FINALLY came to church! ahh!

 it was so amazing. Our investigators Lena, Kendra, Charlie, and Joshua were all there, along with several less active members who havent come to church in months. There were moments when i was either sitting in gospel principles listening to Charlie answer questions, or watching Kendra sit with our Relief Society president's family, where i literally felt like weeping. my emotions were like those in 3 Nephi, where the people were "gushing" tears of joy.

I will never forget the look on Joshua's face as we picked him up from Primary. We had peeked in before his class was over, and seeing the little kids in his class sharing their book of mormon with him honestly melted my heart. When we asked him afterwards what he thought and if he liked primary, his hands clenched up and he threw his head back and was smiling from ear to ear. He LOVED it. what a miracle. Charlie, his dad, showed up in a suit and tie, and he looked so good. He felt super comfortable in class and the spirit was so strong i knew it touched his heart.

The Lord answers our prayers, and i know that He loves each of His children. I was definitely disappointed last week, as some of the investigators who had told us would come to church didnt attend. But i have been humbled as i sat in church this sunday and came to the strong realization that this is the Lord's work, not mine. This was the perfect sunday for all of them to attend. I need to trust in HIS timing, and recognize that all things happen for a reason.

We also had an incredible experience with one of our investigators, Dionna. We had an awesome lesson with her earlier in the week, and then invited her to come to the Trail Center. She got SO excited and told us that she is always looking for fun activities to do with her 3 kids. They came and took a tour/dressed up as pioneers with us on Friday, which went SO well.

.... at the lesson with Dionna earlier in the week, we taught the Restoration and while teaching i had the strong prompting that we needed to give her a Family Proclamation. Well, i didnt have one with me, so i prayed and asked Heavenly Father to put one in my purse! ha. that prayer was not answered at that time... but. As we took the tour on friday, i had the prompting once again to give her a Family Proclamation. Once AGAIN i didnt have one on me, but lo and behold as i looked down while standing by the wagon, there was a Family Proclamation LAYING ON THE GROUND under the wagon! i honestly almost fell over. And almost started crying because i know God had answered my prayer, in HIS timing, and had provided a little miracle. So cool.

The trail center has been SO great the past few days! I was able to take this darling family on tour that were traveling from New Zealand, and were on their way to conference! they were so kind, and the spirit was so strong on the tour as the mother bore her testimony of missionary work, she having two children out on missions. Sister Brough and i took a tour last night of a non member woman who had kind of just wandered in. She made it very clear at the beginning of the tour that she only wanted the "history"... so. we taught her the "history" of the church! ha. it was awesome bearing testimony of the restoration, and literally seeing her countenance change right before our eyes. She had come into the Trail Center ice cold, but left with a Book of Mormon in hand, hugging us and a huge smile on her face. "True doctrine, understand, changes behavior". I love what the spirit can do.

We have an investigator named John, who all of the missionaries in our ward our teaching. ha. He lives with a recent convert named Kitty, and she loves going on team ups and feeding the missionaries, so we are all over there, with John, quite a bit. John has warmed up SO much to the church, and every time one of us goes over there, he always says "each time you missionaries come over i get more and more interested.. i am getting THIS (puts his fingers together) close to joining your church!" ha he is so cool. He came into the Trail Center on Saturday, ha and he took a 5 HOUR TOUR. i have been laughing about it ever since. It has been an ongoing joke since, but in all seriousness i cant wait to see how he progresses. And, it is super fun to all be in on teaching him.

On Saturday we got to watch the General Women's meeting! We were able to broadcast it at the Trail Center, and had desserts and punch for all the visitors. it was incredible. I dont know what got into me, probably the spirit, ha, but i literally could have balled through that whole meeting. I guess i was just so touched by the unity between all the women of the church, no matter their age. Watching the little girls hold their mother's hands and sing together was like a stab to the heart. i loved it. I was SO uplifted by the comments on covenants, and being willing to say "Here am I, SEND ME" to the will of the Lord. That is my goal, to have that be my attitude always.

Watching the Women's Broadcast made me even more excited for this weekend! I am SO EXCITED for General Conference, ah! We are SO blessed to have a prophet on the earth today, and to be able to hear from him and the 12 apostles! it is Christmas in April. Since last conference, President Weston has committed us to read a conference talk from the fall conference every day. i have now read all of them many, many times over, and have learned so much from the words of our leaders. i can hardly wait for a new conference to learn even more!

In preparing for conference, i just read Mosiah 1-4, and have been so touched by the words of King Benjamin in his "general conference address" all those years ago. I especially love Mosiah 2:9

9 And these are the words which he ^aspake and caused to be written, saying: My brethren, all ye that have assembled yourselves together, you that can hear my words which I shall speak unto you this day; for I have not commanded you to come up hither to ^btrifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you should ^chearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear, and your ^dhearts that ye may understand, and your ^eminds that the ^fmysteries of God may be unfolded to your view

I know as we prepare our hearts and minds to actually hear the messages this weekend, that we will be able to receive answers to our prayers, and that the Lord will let us know what we need to be doing with our lives. I will forever be grateful for the conference address in Fall 2012 that helped me receive the revelation to come on a mission. I know that these men and women are inspired by God, and it would "be wise for us to heed their council" :)

Love you all! Pray for me this week with transfers... it often sends the sisters into an uproar! ha. just kidding.. but seriously.

Love,

Sister Peterson

ps. Happy April Fool's Day!

-Sister Brough thought it would be funny to set our alarm at 3 am, in hopes that i would get up thinking it was time to go work out. Well, it worked.. to an extent. I got up, went to the bathroom and saw it was only 3 am, so i went back to bed. Unfortunately, her April Fool's day joke backfired as she wasnt able to sleep for the rest of the night! haha.

- We also came to the trail center this morning a little early before working out and dressed up in pioneer clothes. We hid in the gallery so as the sisters ran by us it became like "night in the museum". it was a riot, and got some good laughs. Ha. what a ridiculous holiday.

 At the temple with Karla! Sister Corrigan, Bishop Burton and his wife, and Brother Fokken from the Ralston La Vista ward

  At the temple with Karla!

 Sister Brough and i getting our toes done last p-day! best treat ever!

 With our BIKES! (in my new skirt! thanks mom i love it!)